THE ROSSONERI'S UCL CAMPAIGN COMES TO A CLOSE
Champions League
On a cold February night, AC Milan's 2024/25 Champions League campaign comes to a close. The Rossoneri drew 1-1 with Feyenoord on the night after having taken the lead through Santiago Gimenez after just 41 seconds played. It's a tough one to take for Conceição's side, who deserved more following a dominant first half, after which they could have been ahead given the chances they had. The decisive moment came in the 51st minute when Theo Hernández was shown a second yellow card.
That was the turning point. Although the Rossoneri dug deep, the guests grew in confidence and equalised through Carranza in the final 20 minutes with their first (and only) shot on target. The hosts gave it everything in the final stages but it wasn't to be. We still have Serie A and the Coppa Italia to help us put tonight's disappointment behind us. Our next outing in the latter is in April, while in the former we take on Torino on Saturday and then Bologna next Wednesday in the hopes of rectifying our league standings. Forza Milan!
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC MILAN v FEYENOORD
MATCH REPORT
The evening started in the best possible way at San Siro: a corner, a cross from Pulisic and a touch from Thiaw and Gimenez with a brilliant header to give us the lead after just 41 seconds. The visitors took the blow and tried to respond through Moder who shot high, as did Reijnders in the 9th minute. Musah had a go in the 16th minute and João Félix in the 18th but no dice. The Portuguese player troubled Wellenreuther with a powerful shot from 25 meters out and Theo smacked the far post on the follow-up. There was a moment of fear in the 34th minute as Redmond made a good run but shot high. João Félix had another go in the 41st minute but Wellenreuther was ready. The last act of the first half came for Leão in the 43rd minute but the ball into the box wasn’t followed by a proper finish.
The game restarted with a protracted move - after a miss from João Félix - which culminated in a low shot from Walker which was saved by the opposition goalkeeper. It all changed in the 51st minute: Theo went down in the box and was shown a second yellow card, we were down to ten men. The situation didn’t stop us as we kept attacking and creating chances with Reijnders, João Félix and Pulisic but the scoreline didn’t shift. The visitors also grew in bravery and went level in the 73rd minute through Carranza. The Rossoneri responded with a Thiaw header from a Reijnders free kick, saved by Wellenreuther. The final moments saw us playing with courage and generosity but the chances didn’t wield anything apart from a shot from Thiaw stopped by Mitchell. The final whistle blew after 7 additional minutes and the curtain fell on our season in Europe.
MATCH DETAILS
AC MILAN 1-1 FEYENOORD (1-2 on aggregate)
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Pavlović, Hernández; Musah (83' Chukwueze), Reijnders (83' Abraham); Pulisic (63' Bartesaghi), João Félix, Leão; Gimenez (71' Fofana). Subs: Sportiello, Torriani; Gabbia, Terracciano, Tomori; Camarda. Coach: Conceição.
FEYENOORD (4-3-3): Wellenreuther; Read, Beelen, Hancko, Smal; Moder, Milambo, Bueno (75' Stengs); Hadj Moussa (87' Mitchell), Redmond (64' Carranza), Paixão. Subs: Andreev, Ka; Giersthove; 'T Zand, van den Elshout; Ivanušec, Osman, Sliti. Coach: Bosschaart.
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).
Goals: 1' Gimenez (M), 73' Carranza (F).
Booked: 22' Moder (F), 44' Hernández (M), 76' João Félix (M), 90'+3 Mitchell (F), Leão (M) after FT.
Sent-off: 51' Hernández (M) for second booking, Read (F) after FT.
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